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1988 Brazilian Grand Prix
3 April | number = 453 | officialname = XVII Grande Prêmio do Brasil | circuit = Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet | location = Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | circuittype = Permanent racing facility | lapdistance = 5.031 | laps = 60 | distance = 301.860 |pole = Ayrton Senna |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:28.096 |fastestlap = 1:32.943 |fastestlapdriver = Gerhard Berger |fastestlapnation = AUT |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 45 |winner = Alain Prost |winnernation = FRA |winnerteam = |second = Gerhard Berger |secondnation = AUT |secondteam = |third = Nelson Piquet |thirdnation = BRA-1968 |thirdteam = |scheduledlaps = 61 }} The 1988 Brazilian Grand Prix, known officially as the XVII Grande Prêmio do Brasil, was the opening round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the freshly renamed Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, on the 3 April 1988.'Brazilian GP, 1988', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr453.html, (Accessed 01/04/2019) The race would see Alain Prost claim a dominant victory for , against a field largely comprised on non-turbocharged cars. It had been a very busy winter after the end of the campaign, with FISA and FOCA both agreeing to a ban of turbocharged engines from onward. This resulted in a large number of teams switching to new 3.5 litre V8s, with a new engine manufacturer supplying three teams, including defending Constructors' Champions . There had also been sweeping changes on the driver front with McLaren, having also become the de facto Honda factory team, signing Ayrton Senna to partner Prost. Defending Champion Nelson Piquet, meanwhile, had moved to to partner Satoru Nakajima, while his seat at Williams had been filled by Riccardo Patrese. Qualifying for the opening race would see Senna claim pole in his turbocharged McLaren, although Nigel Mansell caused a stir by putting his Williams-Judd onto second. Prost was next ahead of Gerhard Berger in the #28 , while Piquet opened his title defence from fifth. An issue for Senna at the end of the formation lap saw the start delayed, with the Brazilian hastily jumping into his spare car to start from the pitlane. This would later result in Senna getting disqualified from the race, the FIA having banned swapping to spare cars after the formation lap during the winter. With Senna gone it was clear for Mansell to claim the lead off the grid, although he was unsurprisingly mugged by Prost and Berger on the run to the first corner. Indeed, the two turbocharged cars powered away from the Williams to duel for the lead through the first corner, with Prost ultimately emerging ahead. Mansell briefly got ahead of Berger through the first corner, although the Ferrari would pounce back later on during the opening lap. He duly stayed glued to the Austrian's tail during the early stages of the race, while Prost escaped out front. Mansell's race was effectively ended on lap nineteen, when his Judd engine overheated in the wake of Berger's Ferrari. Piquet was hence promoted into third for Lotus, only to briefly lose the position to a charging Senna who had moved from 21st to third in twenty laps. Senna was disqualified a few laps later, as Prost and co. made their stops for fresh tyres. Yet, there would be no changes to the overall order, with Prost holding a decisive lead over Berger for the rest of the afternoon. Indeed, Prost would remain ten seconds clear of Berger through to the chequered flag, having paced himself against the Austrian's times. Piquet was a relatively happy third ahead of Derek Warwick, while Michele Alboreto and Satoru Nakajima collected the remaining points. Background Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. Grid ** Senna and Capelli would start from the pit lane. *† Johansson was forced to start from the back of the grid. Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Senna was disqualified for an illegal car change. Milestones * appeared at their 150th Grand Prix.'1. Brazil 1988', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), http://www.statsf1.com/en/1988/bresil.aspx, (Accessed 08/04/2019) * made their debut as an engine supplier. * Debut race for and as constructors. * entered their first Grand Prix as a constructor. * Debut race for Luis Pérez-Sala, Maurício Gugelmin and Oscar Larrauri.'1988 Brazilian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1988&gp=Brazilian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 08/04/2019) * Maiden entries for Bernd Schneider and Julian Bailey. * Alain Prost claimed his 29th career victory. * 56th win for as a constructor. ** powered a car to a 28th win. * Nelson Piquet claimed the 170th podium finish for a chassis. * First race since the 1984 San Marino Grand Prix not to feature an entry by . Standings An opening day victory unsurprisingly left Alain Prost at the head of the Championship, three ahead of second placed finisher Gerhard Berger. Defending World Champion Nelson Piquet, meanwhile, would open his title defence with a third place finish, while Derek Warwick, Michele Alboreto and Satoru Nakajima secured their first points of the campaign. Prost's victory left atop the Constructors' Championship after the opening race, albeit just a point ahead of in second. Indeed, Ferrari were one of two teams to claim two points finishes at the opener, the other being third placed , meaning they were both closer to the leaders than they otherwise would have been. were the only other scorers in fourth. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles